Cast: Maia Kealoha (Lilo), Chris Sanders (Stitch), Sydney Agudong (Noni), Zach Galafanakis (Jumbo), Billy Magnussen (Bleakly), Courtney B Vance (Bubbles), Amy hill (Tutu), Tia Carrere, Kaipo Dudoit, Hannah Waddingham, Jason Scott Lee

Written By: Chris Kekaniokalani and Mike Van Was, based on the film Lilo and Stitch

Directed By: dean Fleischer Camp

release Year: 2025

Studio: Disney

Runtime: 108 minutes

Audio Description Produced By: Deluxe

Written by: (Need Credit)

Narrated By: Amy Davis

What is it?: A remake of the 2002 animated Disney hit, bringing as many elements live action as possible. Lilo and Noni are still recovering from the loss of their parents, and trying to figure out a path forward. Lilo doesn’t have any friends, and Noni is having a hard time balancing work with being a surrogate parent to lilo, something that CPS notices. In an effort to cheer her sister up, after watching her make a wish for a friend, Noni lets her adopt a dog. There’s a bit of a problem. That’s not a dog, that’s experiment 626, or as we will come to know him, Stitch. Stitch has come to Earth hoping to find a new home, but a pair of bounty hunters set to recover him may stand in his way.

What Works: When they announced this, I assumed, like all of you, they would deviate from the initial Stitch voice, allowing Danny Trejo the pleasure of finally voicing the character he was born to play. Alas, Chris Sanders is back. I’m kidding, because that’s a good thing. With some characters, you want the consistency, and if you don’t get the real thing, someone inevitably starts trying to sound like the real deal, like we have with rick and Morty, and basically anyone who is currently doing the voice of a Disney or Looney tunes character. Everything they do is based on someone else’s creation, so we might as well just bring back Chris Sanders.

Casting was such a vital part of this reboot, in its success, and why it works. Maia Kealoha is a revelation. The casting here is so tough, and the casting directors went with an unknown young actress, which stood in stark contrast to so many other live action Disney remakes anchored by recognizable stars. Rachel Ziegler as Snow White, Will Smith as Genie, Emma Watson as belle, Emma Stone as Cruella, and johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The biggest name in this cast is Zach Galafanakis, and this film isn’t sold on his name, nor does he save it. Little Maia had to live up to the adorable energy of animated Lilo, and she sold it. She seemed to understand the assignment, and sold an emotionally vulnerable,quirky, deeply likable Lilo. If lilo hadn’t worked, the film would have fell apart. It is the same reason you see so much praise for Mason Thames in how to Train Your Dragon, because he has to work for that to soar.

It does make a few changes, which help to differentiate your need to have this in existence. The best Disney remakes have made the boldest case for why they should be here, with Maleficent and Cruella flipping the story around, and others coming far too close and landing in the forgettable territory. Cannibalizing your content shouldn’t be a corporate goal at Disney, but intelligent brand expansion, when the idea strikes, sure.

What Doesn’t Work: I’m not sure this made enough of an argument for its continued rewatchability though. Why would your kid choose this over the original? Simply because it is live action? because it is new? I don’t buy that. Kids have been growing up with Disney classics for years, and I don’t think the new generation prefers live action Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, or Lion King to their original counterparts. And why should they? The changes they made were minuscule.

I’ve also come to the realization that the bounty hunting aspect is just unnecessary. Lilo coming to terms with life, a king a friend, and Noni learning how to properly be there for her sister are emotionally grounding elements. Had this film abandoned that aspect, and gone for a more human element, we would have pulled a richer story different enough from the original to give audiences a difference in choice beyond method of delivery.

And Noni running on the bottom of the ocean was just nonsense.

The Audio Description: Truthfully, the track is fine. Lilo and Stitch, much like How to Train Your Dragon has an element to it that doesn’t translate and never will. it is the same thing a biopic has a problem with. “How close did they come?” fans of the original want to see this new “live action” Stitch, and compare him to the original, as well as the humans being cast in formerly cartoon roles. It’s impossible to put that comparison in the description, because occasionally the description would have to acknowledge they missed the mark. Maybe not here, but somewhere.

Why You Might Like it: You have mostly enjoyed the Disney remakes, and this is on the better end of those.

Why You might Not Like it: You have mostly hated all the Disney remakes, and believe no one should touch Lilo and Stitch (2002).

Final Thoughts: While it doesn’t make enough of a case for longevity, Lilo and Stitch is entertaining enough to justify the curiosity in seeing for yourself if this Ohana can be a part of your family. Probably not, but it is worth a shot.

Fresh: Final Grade: 7.3/10